((OOC: Alrighty, I'm back!))

Damian glanced over his shoulder to the effeminate man walking behind him as he simply stated their services should be enough for the king. The young man turned his head to look straight ahead once again and nodded. "I suppose God-sent heroes would be an adequate gift to a king." Damian said aloud. He couldn't help but wonder what the king would be like. Would he be as delightful as the dukes of his previous dreams, or will he be a lazy lord of long forgotten kingdom? Will he be the ruthless ruler that he sounds like, or a stoic and stern sovereign? The answer lied beyond the doorway the group was quickly approaching.

As Damian listened, the more and more these characters seemed real. "The power of the mind, I suppose." He thought to himself. Apparently they were now reciting their modern counterparts' daily lives. Next thing the young man knew, the man in the deer mask would probably start saying he majors in iguana physics or something, although once again, Damian simply decided to play along. Going against the flow of a dream usually just ends up as a mess of garbled images, followed by waking up into the dead of night. "My name's Damian Riel. I, ah, go to the University of Washington and I study mechatronics. Basically just mechanical and electrical engineering, with a small bit of computer science thrown in."

The fact that Madison didn't identify as a gender didn't really suprise Damian all that much considering he had an agender friend in high school, but what did draw a reaction from him was their pseudo-pun. It took him a good ten seconds after speaking to realize Madison's joke about being 'plain Mad', to which point an expression of great realization crossed his face.

|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|

David's eyebrows raised at the boy's question. It was just about the only logical thing asked since the beginning of the start of this strange dream, but for some reason it seemed like such a silly inquiry. Of course the king didn't need a gift if his realm is under attack and they were the only ones who could save it! But then again, the idea behind it didn't seem all that logical, either, but that wasn't the point. What mattered right now is that they didn't embarrass themselves in front of the king. No matter how foolish following a dream was.

David followed up at the very end of the jumbled line they had going, just behind the two young boys, neither of them looking old enough to even drink yet. The idea that underaged kids were this kingdom's last line of defense troubled the man quite a bit, although it was still a dream after all. David didn't even question the others beginning to recite random modern-day schools and professions, simply dismissing them as idle conveniences of a strange dream. "David Lief. I'm a biologist and I study at the New York University." Although his mask didn't allow him to show it, the teenage girl's preference (or lack thereof) to not having a gender actually surprised the wood-clad man. Sure, he lived in New York and that kind of thing was common, but in a dream mainly about medieval times with monsters and magic? That's certainly different.

"So. Two Americans, two Britons. Three boys, a girl, and... me. Funny mix of studies, too. Pity there aren't any computers back in the Dung Ages - 'fraid you might be a bit redundant, Dammy-dams." noted Madison, shrugging almost apologetically at the last part - but the smile on their face made a lie of that.

Abeni took all this new information in quietly, storing it away in her mind for later use. She frowned at what appeared to be jab from Madison, directed at one of her fellow heroes. "Don't be rude, Madison. We need to get along as much as possible if we're to succeed here." Not the mention survive against the monsters... she added mentally. But there was no point mentioning that and reducing morale, especially since they hadn't even left the castle yet.

"Oh, killjoy, Benny, killjoy!" Madison replied, poking their tongue out in a very mature manner. "You don't mind - do you, Omen Kid? You know it's just my little fun, eh?"

Now rather tired of Madison already, Abeni rolled her eyes and turned to look at the masked man (His name is David, she thought), who she correctly assumed to be one of the older ones of the group. She lowered her voice a little, talking conspiratorially. "It seems like we'll be playing parents from now on... I've never been so glad to have three younger siblings."

Madison was really something. Ariel shook his head with a faint smile. "Well, there's nothing contemporary about this time. Doesn't seem to be much law either, so three of us are out," he chuckled. "Luckily, I think we have other talents." At least, he hoped they did. He'd already seen the vines growing out of the floor around the one man, and based on his own clothes, he was supposed to be some kind of mage too. Not that he knew how. Out of curiosity, he flexed his hands together, trying to will something magical to happen. Nothing really happened. His palms tingled a little, but that was probably just in his mind. Maybe he was going to be useless. How long would it be until the others found out?

Granted, Ariel didn't know whether the others would be much help either. Some of them had weapons and armor, but they had yet to use them. And where would a biologist or a law student learn how to fight, anyway? He tried to stop his thoughts before they got too negative, reminding himself that they had been "chosen" for a reason, and in a dream things didn't have to make sense. Maybe they all had secret abilities they had only to uncover in the heat of the moment. Ariel made a face when Abeni mentioned being a parent. He was certainly old enough to parent himself.

I keep forgetting to ping you guys :(

Damian slightly smiled at his initial nickname. 'Dammy-dams' simply did a single shoulder shrug in response to Mad's statement, "Eh, it's fine. I didn't exactly plan on being all that useful in the mechanics department anyways, considering we're... y'know, in a land of magic." The young man sounded content as he spoke, however he began to frown as his words left his mouth. "Wait... Omen kid?" Damian wasn't quite sure what they meant by that last part, but he didn't think much of it.

Not long after speaking, the 'Omen kid' cleared his throat to ask a question. "So, wait... are you all actual... people? Like, with lives outside of this dream?" is what he meant to say, but the words died in his throat before he could say them. Of course they weren't real people. It's impossible to share a dream, everyone knew that. Damian felt a bit stupid for even considering asking a question like that.

The magic archer was snapped out of his brooding as he just barely overheard the woman muttering to the weird masked man. He shot a quick frown at the two of them over his shoulder before returning his attention back to the front. He was in college for God's sake. He didn't need to be babied just because they were a bit older than them.

|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|

David wasn't sure whether to chuckle or frown at Madison's remarks and nicknames. [i]"These corridors are rather long." The biologist thought to himself, wondering when they would get to the king's court. It seemed that both of the boys in front of him were brooding quite a bit, the two of them seemingly lost in some kind of negative thought. The older one was attempting to do something with his hands before simply giving up, to which he proceeded to become further disheartened.

David's deer mask made him appear eerie as he looked toward the woman, although a smile played across his concealed face. "I suppose so." He muttered in response to the paladin's statement. Strangely, David's mask did nothing to muffle his voice as a regular mask or helmet would. Nevertheless, he caught both of the boys' venomous expressions, both of which he didn't give much of a reaction to.

((Writing on my Kindle... The struggle is real.))

Abeni spotted the looks that the others had shot her; she wasn't quite sure why her comment had annoyed them so, but she hoped the two wouldn't hold it against her. They were a team, after all. And she hadn't meant to cause any offense. Shaking her head, she turned her attention to other matters. "How much further will we be going, Whitelock?"

"Just here." replied the sorcerer. He was standing at the end of the corridor next to another wooden door, this one bound in iron and bearing a large snd rather complex lock. "This is the side entrance to the king's throne room. I will go in first and inform his majesty of your arrival. Then I will call for you - come in then."

With that he opened the door with a key he seemed to pull out from nowhere and slipped through the door into the throne room, leaving them alone in the corridor. As the door opened and shut they may have caught a glimpse of a large and well-lit room made of light stone, with rich and brightly coloured tapestries hanging on the walls. Men in shining mail and red tabards, each one holding a spear, stood against the far wall. A muffled voice - deep and masculine - called out and Whitelock answered, though it was almost impossible to make out any words.

"Omen, y'know? The horror move The Omen? Damien Thorn? The creepy devil kid?" clarified Madison, waving a hand vaguely and apparently ignoring Whitelock's word in favour of Damien's filmic ignorance. They had tucked their yo-yo back into the belt pouch to assist in the motion. Something of his reply and Ariel's hand motions had made them wonder, however. If this was a world of magic, then could they do magic too? Could they cast a spell? That would be just too cool for words. "Speaking of magic... I look like a magic type of person, don't I, with my big ol' staff with the knob on the end? Wonder if I could cast a spell..."

"I doubt that." doubted Abeni doubtfully.

"Oh ye of little faith..." Madison raised their hand in a swish and flick, pointing in the other's general direction. "Wingardium leviosa!"

There was a loud pop, a flash of green light, and a small black snake appeared in midair in front of Madison's pointing finger and then fell to the floor, thoroughly distressed and confused by its sudden teleportation to this strange place.

"Well, I did not see that one coming."

With the announcement that they had arrived, Ariel's stomach flipped. Whether it was from excitement or anxiety, he wasn't sure. He knew it was a dream, but this all seemed very real— and becoming more so with every minute that went by. He moved closer to the door, straining his ears to hear what Whitelock and the king were saying, but as Madison went on about the movie it became harder and harder to concentrate. Ariel gave up and turned around just in time for Madison to try a spell. He grinned when he heard the familiar words, and he even half expected to see Abeni suddenly levitate or fly backwards, but nothing of the sort happened. When the snake appeared, he gave a decidedly un-masculine shriek and jumped, and immediately pulled the hood of his cloak down to hide his shame-flushed face.

"That— that startled me," he muttered, more to himself than anything. Now he was more determined than ever to prove he was good for something. Once again, he raised his hands and gritted his teeth, trying to will something magic to happen. He even whispered "Expecto patronum?" hopefully to himself, although he hoped no one else heard. This time his hands tingled again, and he could've sworn he saw his palms glow— but he was probably just imagining it. He curled his arms under the edges of his cloak, hiding his hands, and looked up at the others. "How did you do that?" he asked Madison. "Do you think you can do it again?"

Damian stared up at the large door. If this was the side entrance to the throne room, Damian didn't dare believe how large the main entrance was. "Finally..." Damian said under his breath, disguised by a humble smile. Peeping through the small opening as Whitelock slipped through, the young man could tell that the king would be much more regal than the duke's of Damian's previous dreams. It was quite apparent that the wizard wanted them to look their best to the king, so Damian decided to brush off his sleeves, chest, thighs, and most other places, especially on the bronze embellished parts of his clothing.

Once he was done tending to his clothes, Damian looked back up at Mad, who was now explaining what she meant by her previous nickname. Damian simply shook his head and gave a slight face of resignation. "I can't say I've even heard of that movie. Must be a mainly British movie or something." Even if the movie was popular in the states, Damian doubted he would get the reference, considering that he wasn't that fond of non-comedic horror movies. The bowman decided to simply do a small shrug within a relatively awkward amount of time after finishing his reply.

Damian watched as Mad attempted to do a levitation spell from Harry Potter, only to be startled by Ariel's effeminate scream as a small black snake dropped to the floor. After making sure everything was fine, he bursted into laughter. "Try saying Wingardium Leviosaaaa." The young man said, wiping a tear from his eye, emphasizing the last vowel with a nasally accent. Once he was done laughing, Damian caught his breath after a couple coughs and stated, "In all seriousness, we should probably keep quiet while the sorcerer is waiting to introduce us. I doubt the king or his court would be all that impressed by the sound of seven year olds at recess. We also probably not try and blow up the castle by trying out any more magic."

|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|

David nodded to the white-haired wizard as he slipped through the door to announce their arrival. In the mean time, he decided to study the door, ignoring most of the others' conversations. The door was as decorative as it was sturdy. It looked like it was mostly made of mahogany, giving a sense of class while also being made from a very strong material, and was then reinforced by iron that was made to add a decorative sense to the door, with multiple curved branch-like details, and eventually ending in a lock. David didn't exactly know much about architecture, but that didn't mean he couldn't appreciate the amount of detail put into a door, as silly as it sounds. The biologist was quickly snapped out of his examination by the sound of an almost unholy screech.

David rushed to face the source of the noise to just find the robed boy hiding underneath his hood. Further investigation found that the young man was startled by a very small snake on the ground. The wood-clad man sighed and stated, "It's fine. It looks like it's nonvenomous." Just by the sight of the snake's tiny, beady round eyes and lack of aggression shows from the start that it quite obviously was no danger to any of them. He didn't know much about the animals of this world, but it looked quite similar to a young western rat snake, but that was beside the point. Knowing that the king wouldn't exactly enjoy a snake wandering around his throne room, David decided to start shooing the small critter away, in the opposite direction of the door.

The mage had found Ariel's shriek of terror amusing, laughing along with the older boy. They about to object to Damian's idea of no more magic when they caught another look at the snake they'd accidentally conjured. Madison wasn't a fan of snakes to say the least, so they begrudgingly accepted the wisdom of his suggestion. Even if it was non-venomous like David said, the slithery little thing still low-key freaked them out.

Madison glanced at Ariel confusedly when he spoke, their head quirked slightly to one side. "I don't know... That wasn't what I wanted to do at all and I don't want to end up nipples deep in snakes if it takes that long to get it right." they sighed, looking at a hand glumly and flexing their fingers. "Maybe it's my ol' bump on the head playing silly buggers again."

"Bump on the head?" asked Abeni, eyes straying to Madison's uneven pupils before she could stop herself.

The mage tapped their scar with a finger. "This bump. My dear old Dad decided to shove me into a table when I was a nipper, ever since then my brain sometimes goes on the fritz." Their tone was light, their failure to cast a spell obviously upsetting them more than their past.

The paladin looked distressed by this revelation, shooting the mage a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry that happened to you, Madison."

"Don't be. It's not like it was your fault... Or was it? Kidding! Of course it wasn't."

A lot of things were happening at once, and Ariel was beginning to get a little overwhelmed. He laughed at Madison's funny way of speaking, but quickly sobered up when she started talking about her father. It seemed that the more he got out into the world, the more he heard about awful things like that. In his childhood, abuse was something that happened to abstract other families; maybe a kid in his class, but not anyone he knew. Now he was just becoming more aware of it. He murmured an apology, then turned away. David had said that the snake was harmless, so Ariel looked around for it. He had always been fond of animals, just not possibly harmful animals that could kill him if they were venomous. Of course, he didn't find the snake. It had probably made its escape right away.

There didn't seem to be much else to do besides wait, and that unnerved him. He had no way of knowing what this king would do or what they were getting themselves into. "Anyone else getting a little anxious?" he asked quietly. Of course, he remembered what Damian had said about keeping quiet. In fact, he sort of resented it when people were already talking about him as if he was a child. But he did keep quiet— for the most part. Damian was probably right on that one, but surely some quiet talking wouldn't be any harm.

Damian turned to David, frowning. "That doesn't make it any less creepy. I mean, they don't even have bones!" The young man exclaimed, albeit in a low tone. Hearing Maddy's little story made Damian's frown increase deepen, almost to the point where it was a cringe. After a moment of silence, the magic archer pursed his lips and sucked air between his teeth. That kind of thing was always unfortunate, to say the least. It wasn't exactly unheard of by Damian for a child to be abused by a parent, especially the lengths Maddy seemed to have gone through, but he'd be damned if it was right for a parent to do that. "Hm... Well, that's a shame. 'Least you don't have to go through that kind of stuff now, huh?"

Ariel's statement intrigued Damian. It was taking a while for the sorcerer to begin introducing them to the king. The young man imagined it would take a while for the king to answer the questions of various nobles, but not quite this long. "Yeah, I am getting a bit antsy. What do you guys think the king will be like? I hope he's not as tyrannical as he sounds."

|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|

David scowled at the boy from behind his mask. "What are you, stupid? Just because they're flexible doesn't mean they're worms! Of course they have bones!" Is what the deer-headed man wanted to say, but decided it was best just to keep it to himself. No matter how incompetent the boy was, he was probably right when he said they'd need to keep their voice down. Madison's casual statement slightly angered the spearman. How could a father ever do that to their child? Their own flesh and blood? David clenched his hands, but unlike last time, no vines or plantlife grew from the floor. After Ariel spoke, David decided to not speak in this discussion. There was no reason to worry about time in a dream, much less to have a conversation with figments of your own imagination.

Madison smiled crookedly at Damien when he spoke. "Yeah, you're right about that! Haven't seen the guy since I was... eight, maybe? Seven? A nice old couple adopted me, so that was nice. They'd adopted a lot of strange kids before me, I think they liked collecting the weirdos."

"I'm glad my parents would never lay their hands on us..." murmured Abeni. She looked up when Ariel asked if anyone was getting nervous, then nodded slightly. Though she was loath to admit it, all this waiting was starting to get to her. Whitelock had been gone a long time and she was starting to wonder if the king was displeased by the 'heroes' the sorcerer had summoned. Even if he was just a character in a dream Abeni didn't like the idea of getting him in any sort of trouble. "Maybe he'll be back soon. I hope the king isn't angry at him."

"In trouble! I think he's forgotten about us!" exclaimed Maddy, throwing their hands up in the air in sudden irritation. They didn't like waiting at the best of times and even this conversation wasn't as interesting as finding out what as in the throne room.

"I highly doubt that is even possible. Be patient. It can't be that much longer to wait."

But Madison merely shook their head and turned towards the ornate door with a frown. "Y'know what? Damn the torpedoes, I'm going in." And before the paladin could stop them and ignoring her panicked cry to halt, they strode up to the door and threw it open so hard that a massive crash echoed through the throne room and everyone inside jumped a mile.

"Heeeeeeeere's Johnny!" they called in a singsong tone.

The guards raised their weapons in readiness to defend the king, highly alarmed and confused as to who Johnny was. The king gawped at this sudden intrusion and the stranger's apparent complete lack of manners. Whitelock put his face in his hands and groaned deeply. A second later, King Ethelred rounded on the cringing sorcerer, his face already mottled red and white with pure rage. The king was a large man with dark hair and a large beard, his crimson robes trimmed with ermine and decorated with god thread. There was a large ring on almost all of his fingers and a gold cross on his chest.

"WHAT. IS. THE. MEANING. OF. THIS?!"

His shout echoed across the wide throne room, dislodging dust from the rafters. Everyone in there cringed from the sheer volume of it, Madison especially. They had suddenly realised they may have made a massive, massive mistake. King Ethelred reminded them on their father in all of the worst ways possible and they couldn't help but cringe as they imaged those ringed hands striking their face.

Abeni followed Madison into the throne room, hoping to defuse what had swiftly become a volatile situation. She stopped near Madison and falling to one knee in front of the king, bowing her head respectfully. "Your majesty, I most humbly beg your pardon. My companion here..."

"SILENCE." King Ethelred pointed a finger Madison, who looked to terrified to speak, and glared at Whitelock. "Whitelock! Explain this at once or I'll have your head."

Ariel was listening with a wry smile, nodding along with the conversation. "I don't have high hopes," he confessed in answer to Damian's question. "Medieval kings were awful. They had to be, right? To stay in power. And I was just reading some book about medieval torture devices a while ago, so I wouldn't be surprised if that factors into my dreams somehow." He hugged himself and shuddered, hoping that they wouldn't be on the receiving end of it.

And then, before they had any more time to talk about dreams, Madison burst into the throne room and Ariel's stomach dropped. He almost didn't believe he was experiencing this, that it was really happening. It seemed more like a dream than ever, and he tried to fade to the back of their little crowd, wanting nothing more than to wake up right now.

Even from the back, though, Ariel could see the king. He was huge and intimidating and exactly the kind of person Ariel could see ordering someone to the rack or something even worse. The cross on his chest caught the light, and Ariel shuddered inwardly, remembering the particular aspect of medieval life he had almost forgotten. He wondered whether King Ethelred was one of the royal-protection-of-religious-minorities kings or if he was more of the expulsion-or-conversion type. Either way, he drew his hood down over his dark, tight curls and bowed his head, both out of respect and to hide his large nose. He resolved to say as little as possible and bow and scrape as was appropriate. Whatever it took.

Damian nodded to Mad's response. Hopefully that man is rotting in a cell somewhere far, far away. It was nice, however, to know that Maddy is now staying somewhere they liked. Damian's parents were seperated to two houses. They weren't divorced per se, but one day they just decided to... split apart. Damian would stay at his father's house, and his mother would come and take care of him while his dad was at work.

Damian's father was almost always angry or on the edge, but he'd never come close to actually hurting him. He supposed he was grateful for that, now that he thought about it. The closest thing that came to his father hitting him was when he'd playfully swat a limp newspaper on the top of the boy's head while he was watching T.V. or typing on his tablet. The thought of his early childhood played a smile across the young man's face.

Damian turned his head to Ariel as he spoke, dampening the bowman's hopes a bit. "I suppose you're right. Kings did have to seem powerful in order to keep their people in check, I suppose." Despite that, anything could still happen. This was a dream, after all. Looking back to Mad, he waved off her worry. "I highly doubt Whitelock forgot about us. The king's probably just speaking with a few other nobles before he gets to the wizard announcing the arrival of godsends." The young man's casual expression turned into that of shock as the patched-up mage decided it was a good idea to simply storm into the king's throne room, shouting a line from a movie from an 80's horror movie.

Damian inhaled loudly through his nose as the guards jumped at the ready and the king's face turned into a tomato. He watched as the previously overconfident, almost arrogant individual crumple in on themselves, reduced to nothing but a child in shock. The magic bowman quickly collected himself, strode through the door, and bowed his head deeply, unsure whether to speak on behalf of Mad, or to stay quiet as per the king's... request. Damian decided to take the latter.

|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|

David crossed his arms in approval as the young... person stated that they moved to a better family. Although this was all just a dream, the druidic defender couldn't help but feel happy that this character was in a good state. Well, at least better than what she, er... they had to go through. David's parents decided to have him lead a normal life, with two loving parents. Although now that he thought about it, his parents were almost always angry with each other and arguing when they thought David couldn't hear them. They almost hated each others' guts, but at the end of the day, it was a little David that kept the two of them together.

Before David could grab Madison's arm to stop them, they already slammed open the double doors, the iron binding smashing against stone walls. He cursed under his breath as the guards brandished their weapons and the king grew mad with rage. David didn't know why, but the king's booking voice and call for silence cause him to almost instantly kneel. The sylvan soldier doffed his mask, holding it under his left armpit as his right arm rested on his knee. Despite his head being in a deep bow, his eyes were looking directly up at the king. It was enough to allow him to see about half of the king from his feet to his upper abdomen, but not enough that it's be apparent.

Whitelock looked at the arrayed 'heroes' before him, most if not all of them kneeling, and wholeheartedly wished that he could sink into the ground, never to be seen again. His introduction to the king of the heroes hadn't been going well to start with - especially when he explained that he'd somehow managed to summon a group of teens instead of actual heroes - and one of them apparently losing patience and bursting had made it a hundred times worse. The sorcerer could almost feel the axe on the back of his neck. His mind moved at a million miles an hour, desperately trying to come up with an excuse or explanation that would pacify the king.

He looked at the offending hero - Madison, wasn't that their name? - and saw an almost equal amount of regret in their eyes. Whitelock felt a stab of sympathy for them that was swiftly drowned by his fear and anger. What were they thinking? Had they even been thinking? Was the kingdom really going to be defended by idiots?

Abeni, meanwhile, tugged on Mad's sleeve desperately in an effort to get them to kneel. As much as it grated against her to kneel and beg at a tyrant's feet, she knew that it could be their only chance of mercy. Why am I so scared of being killed in a dream, though? Dying would only make me up... I suppose it just seems so real it's hard to remember that sometimes. And I do rather want to know what happens next... She tugged harder when there was no response, but eventually Madison took the hint and knelt by her side. They looked at the paladin with wide eyes and a pale face.

"I don' like this dream anymore..." they whispered.

"Dream?" Abeni whispered back, frowning. How could a character in a dream know that it was a dream? An idea began to bloom in her head, one she wasn't so fond of. Abeni looked at Whitelock as if he had the answers, but the sorcerer was concentrating on the king and didn't see her look.

"They're foreigners, your majesty, from very distant lands. They're savage by nature and ignorant of our civilised ways - not good Christian folk - but strong and gifted with magic. I kept them outside for a good reason. I was hoping they would calm themselves before I presented them to you, but alas..." Whitelock was saying in his best ingratiating tone, wringing his hands nervously.

The king looked at Madison with a cold eye. "This one dressed like a fool and looks addled in the head. The others look barely look enough to be wearing their breeches. Are these really the best warriors this other land could provide?"

Whitelock ducked his head apologetically. "Times are hard everywhere, your majesty."

"I can do magic! Real good magic - look!" Madison blurted, apparently not learning from their earlier spontaneity. Abeni shook her head and whispered for them not to, but when Madison had an idea in their head nothing could dislodge it. They screwed their eyes shut tight and thought very, very hard about diamonds. Come on! Diamonds, gems, gold, gold coins, money, moolah! Appearify! "Okay, let's see... Ahem! Holla holla, get dolla!"

Whitelock frowned. Was that even a real spell?

"Lucre, lucre, spondoolica!" they added, waving their hands for extra effect. For a second nothing appeared to happen, then there was a pop and Madison vanished. A split-second later, a guard appeared where the mage was kneeling and Madison appeared where the guard was standing. Their sudden teleportation had the unfortunate side-effect of sending the guard falling over into his rear and Madison face-first into the stone wall of the throne room. They let out simultaneous wails of dismay, which seemed to amuse the king greatly.

"A fine trick! You really are a first class fool, aren't you?"

((I hope it's OK that my posts are kinda short; I'm trying to write about as much as each of you do per character. If it's not ok, lemme know!))

Ariel was the last one into the throne room, and he was so busy glancing around that he was also the last to bow— although he didn't hesitate to drop down, more to evade notice than anything. This cloak was very impractical, he thought as he accidentally knelt on it and hopefully managed to disentangle himself before anyone saw. His head was still lowered when Whitelock talked about them being heathens and savages, and it was a good thing, because he couldn't hide his little smirk. He certainly had that right. He doubted there was a Christian among them.

When Madison offered to do more magic, though, Ariel looked up frantically and shook his head, even though he was sure they couldn't see him. He wanted to prevent them from doing magic by the force of his will alone— the last thing they needed was more snakes. Instead, he flinched when Madison vanished, but even he couldn't help smiling a little at the comical show. Even the king seemed to be laughing, which did much to defuse the tension in the room. The others were standing up now, so Ariel did as well, even chancing a hesitant little smile.

((Don't worry about it! As long as you pace yourself and you don't forget about us, that's fine! Just keep posting as much as you feel comfortable with, and don't let us intimidate you ;)))

Damian slightly raised his head to peer at Whitelock, who seemed thoroughly anguished. The white-haired wizard's eyes snapped to Mad, and Damian could only feel sorry for the small individual, who was still standing, oblivious to everything around her until Abeni signaled her to drop on her knee. The magic archer sucked air through his teeth once again. This was a rather... unfortunate situation they were in. Mad mumbled something and the older woman's eyes widened a bit, but the bowman was unable to make out anything from it.

Damian hoped the king was merciful and would just send them on their way, but the young man seriously doubted that would be the case. He just wanted to get out there, kill some monsters, save the day, and wake up to a nice Saturday morning. That ideal seemed to stray further and further away as Mad continued to lose control over themself.

As Damian stared at Mad through the corner of his eye, the wizard began to speak once more. The bowman frowned as Whitelock spoke as if they weren't even there. Savages? Uncivilized? You all crap in buckets for goodness sake! He may be Buddhist, but that didn't mean he was any less refined than the average Christian! Damian calmed himself down as he noticed he was furiously scowling at the large red carpet under his feet. The magic archer rose his head to look directly at Mad as they jumped up and suddenly started spouting words. Damian just barely raised his arm in preparation to shield himself from an onslaught of reptilians, when Mad was suddenly fully armored. And a bit taller as well. And much less scrawny. In fact, it took Damian a while to fully realise that Mad and a guard simply switched places, but none the less the young man groaned to himself. There goes all of their heads.

Despite this grim situation, Damian was surprised when he heard the king chuckle. The bronze-embellished bowman let out a sigh of relief, glad to find the king was in a much better mood. Ariel seemed to do the same, a small smile beginning to play across his face. If there was a time to speak, it'd be now. Damian cleared his throat, put on his most charming smile, and spoke. "Your majesty, as Whitelock said before, we are all... gifted with magical feats and strengths, although some of us more than others." Damian gestured to the teenager, who's face was still buried in a stone wall. "Forgive me for speaking out of term, however I'd like to express that each of us are all very capable of pushing back the fiends that plague your lands." The magic archer paused for a moment and also proceeded to say, "If it is entertainment you desire as well, I am sure we can perform, to present our aforementioned magical talents of course."

|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|

David kept a calm visage as he continued to kneel. His eyes darted around the room, searching for an effective escape in case they were in need of one. The guards lined the walls although the side entrance they bursted through was relatively guard-free. There was a long silence that followed that allowed the wood-clad warrior to sigh and collect his thoughts. Their situation currently consisted of: 1). A hyperactive mage in shock 2). An enraged king who was a hair's length away from executing them 3). An archer kid with a big mouth 4). Another boy tripping over his own robes 5). A coward wizard who was throwing them under the bus.

In conclusion, things didn't look good for David. He was getting real tired of being called a savage, and began to slowly don his helmet, readying himself to make his escape. He was about ready to jump up and make a run for it, when suddenly the mage decided to open their mouth again. David got that she didn't exactly have all her marbles, but why did she have to make it worse? He stood as the young individual popped out of existence, but was suprised to hear the king chuckle at the mage's utter failure. The sylvan soldier removed his wooden visage once again to make sure he was hearing everything alright, to find out the king was indeed laughing.

"Maybe everything'll be fine after all." David thought to himself. Everyone now seemed to be in a... better mood, besides Madison and the unfortunate guard that took her place. Perhaps he's get to experience his entire dream for once. That's when the boy opened his mouth again. What was he thinking? Performing? They weren't circus animals! Couldn't the boy just be quiet for once?

((Don't worry about my walls of texts. I'm just a writer with a lot to say. ;) ))

Madison was apparently having a little trouble getting up after their sudden meeting with the wall. Whitelock watched them stand, stumble, and nearly faceplant onto the wall again before he took pity on them. He grabbed onto Maddy's arm and pulled them into their feet, hold them until they managed stay upright. "Use your staff." he muttered, shooting a glance at the others as he did so. The archer was addressing the King Ethelred, who was apparently taking it all in. Thank God the trick that Madison pulled that had cheered his majesty up a little, or at least made him a little less angry.

"Thanks for that, badger." whispered Madison, smiling lopsidedly at the sorcerer. They still looked distinctly out of sorts and a rather impressive bruise was blooming on their forehead. "So uh... What happens now?"

"We leave here with great but not disgracious swiftness. If I can ask a question?" Whitelock muttered.

"Hrrrm?" replied Madison, looking at Whitelock out the corner of their eye. "Yeah, sure. Shoot."

"What were you thinking?! The king could have killed you - or worse!" the wizard hissed, narrowing his eyes at the mage. Really, what had possessed them to burst into the throne room - into the room containing the most powerful man in Kaymru and several well-armed, twitchy guards - and scream on top of their lungs like an idiot child? Surely anyone with a little intelligence would see that was tantamount to suicide. A swift suicide with dozen spears in your gut or a nine foot drop and rope around their neck. Or, if they were unlucky, a long, slow suicide with the rack and the torturer's little box of toys.

"Oh, well... That's an easy one. I wasn't!"

Whitelock almost burst into tears. They were going to die. Those poor, foolish children were all going to die and he was leading them to the slaughter. Well, not leading them - he was staying here with the king and the royal court. Gregor Whitelock was the kind of sorcerer more at home with books than on the battlefield.

Meanwhile, King Ethelred was considering Damian's words. He stroked his beard with a finger, frowning down at the archer thoughtfully. The offer of entertainment was tempting - he was often bored and his usual players had begun to bore him - but as his advisors had often told him, the situation in the country was growing worse by the day. The monsters were eating dozens of peasants and farmers every week, he had heard. To make it worse, the attacks were growing further from the deep forests and closer to civilization. This week, a child was attacked by a creature lurking in a well and vanished without a trace. This happened in the middle of a village, sending shockwaves through the court when they heard the news. The villages were supposed to be safe.

"If you are here to slay monsters, then it would be wise to go about your duty as soon as possible. Many are losing their lives to the beasts that haunt the forests and they cry out for relief." he pronounced, looking over the arrayed 'warriors' that the sorcerer had summoned - however he had managed that.

Abeni nodded solemnly. "We will do our very best to ensure your country and your people are safe, your majesty. We will not return until the monsters are vanquished."

"Excellently said, young knight. My sorcerer Gregor Whitelock will be your guide and aid in this most noble of quests."

"No!" Whitelock yelled in sudden fear, causing Maddy to wince. His face was as white as a sheet, contrasting markedly with his dark robes. "No, your majesty... I cannot... I have to stay here, your majesty, to... To help you. And protect you."

"Your loyalty is admirable, Whitelock, but you are needed elsewhere. It will be hard, but I dare say we will manage without you." The king almost smiled. "These brave warriors need your help."

"I... I can't fight."

"But you can read dozens of books bought with my coin, burn your way through tonnes of tallow, and while away your days practising spells which do nothing but scare the servants by making awful bangs, lights, and stinks throughout the castle. So don't think of it as death, think of it as a sacrifice. Or the repaying of a debt." King Ethelred said, unmoved by the sorcerer's obvious terror.

"Oh come on!" Madison burst out. "That's not fair! You can't kill a guy for being a lazy bookworm! That's what noogies, swirlies, and half-Nelsons are for!"

"I agree with Madison. Your majesty, I must most strenuously object. This is unjust." Abeni frowned, her heart filling with sympathy for Whitelock. He may be rather rude and borderline bigoted, judging by his earlier comments, but that was par the course for these times and not something to be killed for. "Can you really look a man - a man who has served you loyally for years - and cold-heartedly send him to his death?"

"All must make sacrifices for the good of the country. Did you not pledge earlier to defend Kaymru or die trying? Many before you have sworn the same and aid the ultimate price. It is Whitelock's turn to do the same."

At first, Ariel surveyed the exchange between the others with a sort of detachment. What did it matter, anyway? He liked fantasy stories well enough. If he "died" here, as long as it was swift and painless, he would just wake up. The other characters in his dream would either cease to exist or possibly come back in another dream later. For now, he laughed when Madison said they weren't thinking. The young mage had demonstrated the most magic out of any of them (except maybe Whitelock) and had just singlehandedly saved their lives. As far as Ariel was concerned, they were the MVP.

Whitelock, on the other hand, was becoming less and less impressive. He had no problem summoning heroes to fight to the death for his country, but G-d forbid he do the same. Ariel supposed it was frightening to think about dying– especially when he couldn't just wake up— but none of the others seemed to have a problem with it. Although they supposedly weren't from this world either… Well, if these people could face their actual deaths to save the world, he could do the same. He straightened up and gripped his own staff, glancing between Whitelock and the king and offering the wizard a little smile without much feeling behind it. He still didn't have much to say to the good Christian king, but he was beginning to feel ready to go save the world.

Damian waited patiently for the king's response, hands weaved together behind his back. He dared to shoot a glance away from the king and take a quick look at how Mad was doing with their flat stone friend. His smile widened a bit before returning to his 'passive' humble smile, as he watched them comically slip once more, to which point the white-haired wizard helped them up. Although he wasn't that far away from the two, Damian couldn't quite make out what they were talking about. They were probably just talking about magic or something. All that being said, the magic archer's eyes quickly returned to the king to await his answer once more.

Damian's smile widened as the king decided it was more important for them to save his kingdom than to slay his boredom. "And vanquish these maleficent monsters we shall, your majesty. Ah, but where are my manners? My name is Damian Benjamin Riel. I shall be ever at your service." With that, the bronze-embellished bowman took a deep bow, and listened to Abeni as she spoke.

Damian nearly jumped out of his skin at the sorcerer's nigh-unholy cry. Apparently someone in his dream did not enjoy the idea of dying, despite all of his other characters' neglect for their own lives. Mad especially. Despite that, it would still be best for the group to have one kind of guide or another. It was also in the wizard's own words himself, "The king is the law". If a man was willing to summon and send five individuals to their possible deaths, why would it be wrong for someone to order them to do the same?

"I would agree with his majesty. We'd need all the help we can get, in addition to a guide. Who else would be a better chaperone to a group of 'ignorant savages' than the court wizard of the Great kingdom of Kaymru?"

|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|

David frowned at the teenage mage, helmet under his arm. He might see how some of the others could be useful in combat, but a mage who couldn't control their own spells? That was downright dangerous. If they were to go into battle, David would make sure to stay as far away as he could from the mad magician. The wood-clas warrior looked back to the king, stroking their large, dark beard in thought. Although the king didn't appear quite that old, white hairs streaked through his beard and mane, no doubt from years of stress. Although some kings ruled through an iron fist, they nevertheless had to manage an entire kingdom. If that didn't give one gray hairs, David didn't know what would.

David sighed under his breath as the king declined the offer for entertainment. He didn't know what he's do if someone told him to act like a fool for the sake of another man's pleasure. Moving away from that topic, the sylvan soldier's eyes darted between the king and his wizard as the white-haired man desperately tried to shove off his orders. If they had to lay down their lives, why didn't he? But then again, what help would a coward that couldn't fight be? If anything, the sorcerer would be more of a nuisance than a necessity.

"Personally, I'd rather Whitelock not accompany us. He'd probably just slow us down to be honest." David said in a dry tone. He didn't enjoy sounding like a jerk, but someone would have to say it, regardless.

((Might make my posts a bit shorter in the future. I think I post too much to be honest (like how's the king gonna reply to Damian now his own reply is in the past?) ))

Abeni took in what the king had said solemnly. It was true that others would have died defending the kingdom from monsters, and it was selfish for Whitelock to think that he was exempt from doing his part to defend his home - especially since the situation was apparently so dire. He may be scared, but the soldiers who had waged the apparently hopeless war against the monsters must have been terrified, too. And it wasn't like anyone would actually get hurt if he died, seeing as he was just a figment of her imagination. If she died on the quest, she would just wake up in her bed in the morning unharmed.

Still, rubbing it in like Damian was seemed a little cruel.

She looked at David as he objected to Whitelock's presence. "I see your point, but Damian is right. None of us know our way around the country, but Whitelock does. Also, he is the only one to know... how we got here. We need him to, ah, smooth over any cultural misunderstandings we might have."

"By calling us a bunch of stupid cavemen like we weren't even in the room? Yeah, not wanting to die aside, maybe Rincewind here should stay home." Maddy wasn't really that sore about the insults, but making people squirm was funny to them.

Whitelock had the decency to look a little ashamed at that, even if he didn't get the 'Rincewind reference.

"If that's what it takes." replied Abeni. "A speaker must tailor their speech to the audience."